Created on Thursday, 20 December 2012 09:02
Written by The New Pittsburgh Courier

The Moores never expected that a few clicks of the mouse and strokes of the keyboard would change their lives forever.

For several months the Moores dealt with a car that gave them nothing but problems, and when they would take it to be checked out and repaired, they got nothing but the run around. Darleen Moore kept putting money into it, but felt she was getting nothing back.

After being fed up, her daughter, Mareena Moore, decided to leave a posting on the Who’s Your Brother website, requesting assistance. Several weeks later, right before the posting was about to expire, the Moores received the call they had been waiting for-Santa was coming early. They were notified that, as a part of the Who’s Your Brother holiday season Toy Drive Kick-Off, along with Shadyside Honda Dealership, their car would be repaired and restored.

“Who’s Your Brother has been a very good blessing to our family. Without them we would not be where we are right now,” said Darleen Moore, who uses the car to get to both of her jobs and to do missions work in the community. “I thank God for a program such as this that they are able to reach out to people who are in need.”

Wade Redcross, founder of Who’s Your Brother, said that he was delighted to help this family. “They were extremely gracious. I love seeing Mareena (and her family) have her need accepted and to see Shadyside Honda step up as a corporate sponsor. It is impressive. The whole thing is wonderful,” he said.

“They made it look brand new. It was one of those things that you don’t know it could happen to you,” said Mareena Moore, a single mother, college student and intern.

Along with the Moore’s car being repaired, Shadyside Honda has also committed to assisting with future maintenance of the vehicle.

“Shadyside Honda is a part of the Rohrich Automotive Group and has a long history of community involvement. I was looking for someway we could connect to the community,” said Bob Jacinto, general manager of Shadyside Honda. “It was a small thing to do and it was great to assist a young mother going to school and who needed help. I think this is a unique process that (Who’s Your Brother) has.”

Who’s Your Brother began in 2011 after Redcross had got an idea during the 2009 Christmas season, that he wanted to do something to help people. “I had been working in the financial industry, but I always wished that I could do more. It was easy to see the corporate greed and I felt apart of it,” he said.

Who’s Your Brother is an online community that encourages people to build up their communities as they would each other, which is by sharing their talents and resources with one another, without adding a monetary value.

“So often in a community, people will look past their neighbors and not engage them. It is a sad state of affairs,” Redcross said. “Our goal is to help men and women recognize the value in their neighbors. By removing money, it encourages people to find the value of one another.”

The way the organization works is that, individuals can go on the website and create a profile, post their need and then someone can come along and either accept their need or send a message detailing what they can offer to meet the individual’s need.

Since its creation, Redcross said Who’s Your Brother has met the needs of approximately 159 families through its website; more than 150 families through its Furnish For Free program, which donates gently used furniture, home items and clothing to members of its community without the exchange of money; and approximately 100 families through its Toy Drive that was held Dec. 15.

As for the organization’s future, Redcross said there is still plenty of work to be done and he would hopefully like to extend the operation to other cities. “Our goal is to inspire the community to recognize the value that we have in one another over and above the all mighty dollar. Unfortunately we live in a society that will forge relationships over monetary reward. We would like to see the community be restored,” he said.

As for the Moores, Mareena said she would tell people who are in need and waiting for their Christmas miracle, “to be patient and never give up. Things are bound to turn around.”

For more information on Who’s Your Brother, visit www.whosyourbrother.com.